Bookstore_Maruzen

Catalytic Role of a Major Bookstore in National Book Culture: Case Study of Maruzen Company, Ltd. The study of printed book culture in all its aspects contributes important perspectives about the role of books in the process of communication that help to explain how modern societies develop and flourish. Some researchers examine the long-term impact of the printing invention in the seventh century on social, cultural, and economic development in China and later in Japan. Other researchers study the effect of Europe's movable type printing invention in the fifteenth century as a key "agent" in Europe's economic, political, and social development. Still others are looking at the impact of mass publication on the movement of ideas around the world. Some are not interested directly in book culture or publishing, but are looking at the impact that printing had on making European societies more open. A few scholars are examining printed book publishing culture in a social context. There are numerous other areas being studied that focus on specific features of book publishing culture. In spite of this, there are not many researchers looking at how published books and the ideas contained in them move from the writer to the book publisher and, finally, to the intended recipient, the reader. This is the process of distribution and its most common end point, the bookstore, where the book and reader meet. We decided to concentrate on bookstores because distribution is one area of the publishing process that has not been given much academic attention.[1] This essay explains how we are examining the role of specific major bookstores in the creation and running of national book cultures. Our examination shows that it is also possible that certain major bookstores played a catalytic role in building and enhancing the social, cultural, political, and economic strength of the country where they are located and operate. To determine if our assumption is correct, our research at present is focused on four aspects of this catalytic role. The first is that bookstores act as a key mechanism for helping readers to come in contact with authors. The second is that there is an important link between bookstores and universities. The third is that this link, in turn, has some influence on national development. And, the fourth is that the actual experience of such a bookstore to demonstrate this. In the case of this presentation it is Maruzen Company, Ltd. in Japan. We are looking mainly at the role of the bookstore for spreading books within book culture as one of the important mechanisms, together with the library and book reviews, to bring readers into contact with many authors. One reason we find this important is because of the huge numbers of books produced throughout the world, but, particularly in certain countries, like Great Britain and Japan. This volume of books often makes it difficult for readers to know about all new books that are published and which books to buy. As for new books, the International Publishers Association annual statistics reported that in 2005 Great Britain published about 206,000 new books and Japan published about 80,000. Great Britain, with a population of 60,776,238, produces the most books per capita in the world. Japan, with a population of about 128,000,000 about twice that of Great Britain, produces only about one-third the number of new books. If existing books "in print" that are still being sold are included the number of books to choose from becomes very large. In Great Britain alone, total books in print and for sale at present is 1,125,000. With such large numbers of books the booksellers in bookstores become the experts who can provide crucial information to help readers find books they want and need. This is not a new phenomenon. Laura Cruz pointed out that "By the end of the sixteenth century, only professional booksellers had the expertise necessary to evaluate books, especially scholarly ones, and to find buyers for more specialized texts."[2] Mary Elizabeth Berry's imaginative account of an Edo silk shop clerk searching for books in 1692 describes how he consults the "Koueki shojaku mokuroku... [with] over 7,000 current titles divided into 46 main categories."[3] The number of books available then was a small fraction of what is produced today. In addition, Barbara MacAdam, writing in Library Trends, said the ability [to] “recognize [how] different authors take different approaches to the same topic” can be developed through “greater cooperation among university teachers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians.” Libraries and review publications also have similar experts, but it is bookstores where readers and authors meet most often. Of course, among the readers are scholars and librarians, including university librarians. Since universities are known for their part in national development and also have close ties with bookstores, we posed this question: “Is it possible that bookstores also play a role in national development'” To find the answer we are looking at two well-known bookstores in Japan and Great Britain, Maruzen Company, Ltd. and Blackwell’s Bookshop. . We selected these two companies because they have similar histories and the countries where they are located are also similar. Maruzen was founded in 1869 in Tokyo, Japan, and Blackwell’s was established in 1879 in Oxford, England. Both companies were small stores that became major bookselling companies and publishers. As we compared the backgrounds of the two companies, we found one very interesting similarity. They both had close links to a major university. Blackwell’s was close to Oxford University in Great Britain, and was, in fact, founded in Oxford, and the founding of Maruzen in Tokyo, Japan, was greatly influenced by Yukichi Fukuzawa, who founded Keio University, the oldest private university in Japan. We concluded that it was, therefore, possible that major bookstores do have a chance to influence the national development of a country. At present, our research is looking only at Maruzen in Japan and the role it played in Japan’s development. First, we are looking at the general background of print publishing, bookselling, and reading that help create modern Japan.[4] Specifically, we are looking at how bookstores played a role in helping Japan to move from a feudal country to a modern, industrial country. Second, we are looking specifically at the experiences of certain university libraries, and bookstores in connection with the growth of science and research in Japan. The university libraries include: • University of Tokyo Library • Kyoto University Library • Keio University Library • Waseda University Library Other major bookstores with long histories include: • Kinokuniya Bookstore • Kitazawa Bookstore • Hinoki Shoten Co. • Sanseido Bookstore We have sent out questionnaires to various organizations. We will also visit some of them for interviews and to look at their archives. As our main focus is on Maruzen we have been using the Maruzen Library of Books on Books (Maruzen Hon no Toshokan in Japanese) at the main store in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo. Our main reference source is “Maruzen Hyakunen Shi – Nihon Kindai-ka Ayumi to Tomo Ni” (One-hundred Years History of Maruzen – Developing Together with Japan’s Modernization) compiled by Takeshi Kimura. It has three very large volumes. The two history volumes are 1,766 pages. The Accumulated Documents volume (“Shiryou Hen”) is 492 pages. It covers the period from the second year of the Meiji Period in 1869 to the 44th year of the Showa Period in 1969. (See photo below) Maruzen Bookstore was founded by Yuuteki Hayashi one year after the Meiji Restoration began in 1868. Hayashi's decision influenced by Yukichi Fukuzawa, a well-known intellectual and educator who earlier founded Keio University in 1858. It is one of the most outstanding in Japan, along with the University of Tokyo, Waseda University and Kyoto University. Although Maruzen is not the oldest bookstore in Japan, it has a long history of importing western books into Japan to be used in the new universities. The "One-hundred Years History of Maruzen" shows that the company was not only a prominent bookseller, but it also played a very important role in Japan's intellectual development by bringing Western knowledge to the country in the form of books and journals. (See photo of Hayashi below) Much of the teaching of western subjects in the new universities was done in English, German and French by foreign teachers brought to Japan for this purpose. This method of teaching was easier than translating so many difficult books into the Japanese language for use by Japanese teachers. One of Maruzen's first catalogues from 1883, titled "A Select List of General Works" (see photo below) include such western publications, as, • Geography and Universal History (in French) • Metallurgy (in German) • Physics (in French) • Chemistry (in French) • Mineralogy (in German) • Political and Social Science (in English) • English Grammar • Anatomy (in German) Dictionaries and encyclopedias in various western languages, especially English, German and French were also imported and sold. (See photo below.) These included, "Merriam Webster New International Dictionary" and "Oxford New English Dictionary." In the Meiji period Japan was going through very big changes that were sometimes confusing, contradictory, and, even, unwelcome. However, its development was not like a developing country today. Japan already had a strong book culture adapted mainly from China[5], a strong education system that included “institutions of higher learning with histories even longer than any in the West…[dating back to]…the seventh century”,[6] also adapted from China, and potentially strong economy.[7] Where do we go from here' We are now examining in more detail exactly how Maruzen's influence took place and in what form, particularly in terms of its impact on the social, political, economic, and intellectual thinking in academic institutions that shaped Japan's rise as a global power in the broadest sense. After we finish the Maruzen study we will look at Blackwell's Bookstore and its role in Great Britain. ----------------------- [1] Megumi Ishida, "The Key Role of Bookstores in Book Distribution", Master's Thesis, Josai International University, Chiba, Japan, 2005. [2] Laura Cruz, "The Secrets of Success: Microinventions and Bookselling in Seventeenth-Century Netherlands," Book History, Volume 10, 2007. [3] Print in Japan: Information and Nation in the Early Modern Period, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2006. [4] Amadio Arboleda, "Edo kara gendai no Nihon no shoseki bunka", Shuppan Kenkyu (Publishing Research), Number 37, 2006. [5] Amadio Arboleda, “Publishing in Japan” in International Book Publishing: An Encyclopedia, New York & London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. [6] Michio Nagai, “Education in the Early Meiji Period”, in Meiji Ishin: Restoration and Revolution, edited by Nagai Michio and Miguel Urrutia, Tokyo: United Nations University, 1985. [7] Shunsaku Nishikawa and Osamu Saito, “The Economic History of the Restoration Period”, in Meiji Ishin: Restoration and Revolution, edited by Nagai Michio and Miguel Urrutia, Tokyo: United Nations University, 1985. ----------------------- Top picture is Maruzen in 1869; bottom picture is 20th century Blackwell's A textbook in French from the late 1800s showing notations written in Japanese by a student. Photo to left show Maruzen labels that were put on the inside cover of books it sold. Photo above shows Maruzen labels in books bought by Keio University Library in the late 1800s. Top photo: French physics textbook bought by Keio University Library in the late 1800s/ Middle photo: German textbooks on physics, mineralogy, and anatomy bought by Keio University Library in the late 1800s/ Bottom photo: French textbook on French literature bought by Keio University Library in the late 1800s/